JUTH: Stop sacking resident doctors, court orders CMD

NATIONAL Industrial Court presided over by Honourable Justice Waziri Abalin has ordered the Chief Medical Director (CMD) of the Jos University Teaching Hospital, JUTH, Professor Edmund Banwat to desist from sacking resident doctors in the health institution.

Justice Waziri Abali also ordered the Chief Medical Director and the hospital to fully comply with the circular issued by the Federal Ministry of Health regarding the Residency Training Programme of the doctors.

Among the doctors already sacked unjustly by the JUTH CMD, according to the court papers filed by Gyang Zi and Knights Firms include ten doctors, comprising four Surgeons, four Gynecologists and two doctors from the Department of Medicine

JUTH in moving to sack the doctors had relied on the Federal Government Circular of 2013 which stipulates that the doctors could serve for only six years.

But the Doctors through their Counsel, Mr Gyang Zi have objected to that citing what they said was the most recent circular dated April 20, 2016 which they insisted super seded every other circular.

The 2016 circular allows the doctors to serve for between nine and ten years depending on their departments

The orders of the court dated August 29, 2017 which was obtained by JAY FM in Jos on Friday also directed the JUTH CMD to re-instate all the resident doctors whose appointments were unlawfully terminated prior to the expiration of their Residency Training Programme in contravention of the Approved Template by the Federal Ministry of Health dated 10th July, 2014.

The orders were given following a suit filed by the Trustees of National Association of resident doctors and its National President, Dr Paul Agbo who also asked the court to restrain the CMD and JUTH either by themselves, agents, privies, or representatives from doing anything adverse to the resident doctors in connection with their Residency Programme pending the determination of the Motion on Notice, a prayer which was also granted by the court.